Scottish Executive

Schools

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish school examination results for each school this year.

Peter Peacock: The Executive has consistently made clear that it is committed to widening access to information on schools and to making that information more meaningful. Our partnership agreement makes it clear that we will "promote improved assessment of individual schools’ progress as a better measure than national league tables". I want parents, pupils and communities to know about the performance of their local schools, and the information available to go much wider than just exam results.

  Through the school improvement framework introduced by the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000, we are establishing evidence of performance across all five national priorities in education. Exam results are one part of that evidence. Schools and education authorities have that information to assess schools’ progress in detail, and to inform their own plans to deliver improvements in education for pupils. The Executive reviews that information to assess progress and inform future policy development.

  I am concluding plans to publish baseline information on each local authority across all of the national priorities. This will be the most comprehensive description of performance at the local authority level, and will allow comparisons over time of progress against a wide range of indicators. It draws on and complements the wide range of information currently available on performance of the school education system.

  The Scottish Qualifications Authority makes available national exam result pass rates annually and reports from principal examiners on performance and standards.

  Information on the performance of each school and local authority is available from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education reports following inspection. The inspection reports on aspects of the performance of the education system are also published.

  Reports of international comparative studies of performance in which Scotland participates are published, the results of which are included in reports such as Education at a Glance.

  We are consulting currently on how to improve the annual reports parents receive about the progress and performance of their child.

  We are also consulting on strengthening our monitoring of 5-14 achievement through a new Scottish survey of achievement to build on and extend the current assessment of achievement programme and to move away from the collection of national test data for this purpose.

  Statistical publications give a range of information, including exam results, attendance and absence and school leaver destinations.

  We need to share key aspects of this wealth of information with parents effectively. I am concluding arrangements for the publication of school level exam results in a new format linked to other relevant information available at school level. I am also considering how best to draw together the other sources of information for parents. This will complement information already available locally to parents through school handbooks and reports published by education authorities, and make it easily accessible to all with an interest.

  I will advise Parliament in due course of the details of those arrangements, and how we plan to use a website as part of that approach. We aim to have in place the arrangements by mid-December. This will mean that school level data on a range of issues is available when school handbooks are published. In the meantime, in early November, exam result figures at the national and education authority level will be published.

  Taken together, our commitments represent a comprehensive approach to extending access to all available data, including exam results. They move decisively away from simplistic comparisons of school performance using only exam results towards a rigorous but better balanced overall approach to the evaluation of school performance in Scotland.

  

  

 Following are statistics on 
  parliamentary questions and answers for the period from 
  16/06/2003 to 11/07/2003



  


 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer
 Total


 Total questions 
  asked
 634
 13
 647


 Total questions 
  answered
 384
 3
 387



  

 Total 
  non-recess questions answered (breakdown)


 Answered within:
 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer


 0-10 days
 213
 0


 11-20 days
 61
 0


 21-30 days
 12
 1


 31-40 days
 0
 0


 40+ days
 0
 0


 Total answered
 286
 1



  

 Total 
  recess questions answered (breakdown)


 Answered within:
 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer


 0-20 days
 98
 2


 21-30 days
 0
 0


 31-40 days
 0
 0


 40+ days
 0
 0


 Total answered
 98
 2



  

 Following are statistics on 
  parliamentary questions and answers for the period from 
  14/07/2003 to 08/08/2003



  


 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer
 Total


 Total questions 
  asked
 450
 15
 465


 Total questions 
  answered
 528
 11
 539



  

 Total 
  non-recess questions answered (breakdown)


 Answered within:
 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer


 0-10 days
 0
 0


 11-20 days
 0
 0


 21-30 days
 0
 0


 31-40 days
 1
 0


 40+ days
 1
 0


 Total answered
 2
 0



  

 Total 
  recess questions answered (breakdown)


 Answered within:
 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer


 0-20 days
 434
 10


 21-30 days
 86
 1


 31-40 days
 6
 0


 40+ days
 0
 0


 Total answered
 526
 11



  

 Following are statistics on 
  parliamentary questions and answers for the period from 
  11/08/2003 to 05/09/2003



  


 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer
 Total


 Total questions 
  asked
 475
 11
 486


 Total questions 
  answered
 489
 11
 500



  

 Total 
  non-recess questions answered (breakdown)


 Answered within:
 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer


 0-10 days
 4
 0


 11-20 days
 0
 0


 21-30 days
 0
 0


 31-40 days
 0
 0


 40+ days
 1
 0


 Total answered
 5
 0



  

 Total 
  recess questions answered (breakdown)


 Answered within:
 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer


 0-20 days
 413
 11


 21-30 days
 58
 0


 31-40 days
 7
 0


 40+ days
 6
 0


 Total answered
 484
 11